Spotlight on Technology in Education. No. 7 in the Harvard Education Letter Spotlight Series

Walser, Nancy, Ed.

Harvard Education Press

This edited volume covers the range of critical trends in the use of computers and other devices for classroom teaching, online learning, professional development, school improvement, and student assessment. "Spotlight on Technology in Education" draws on expert sources including teacher-leaders, librarians, researchers, and trainers who share their best advice on helping students to evaluate Web resources and leverage the Internet and computer programs for collaborative experiences and engaging, motivating lessons. This volume also delves into emerging practices and research in online professional development, computerized testing, and hybrid schooling. This book is divided into three parts. Part I, Technology in the Classroom, contains the following: (1) Internet Research 101: How to Help Middle School Students Avoid Getting Tangled up in the Web (Colleen Gillard); (2) Better Teaching with Web Tools: How Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts Are Changing the Classroom (Colleen Gillard); (3) "Dumb" Phones, Smart Lessons: Schools Answer Student Calls for Mobile Computing (Colleen Gillard); (4) Teaching 21st Century Skills: What Does It Look Like in Practice? (Nancy Walser); and (5) The Classroom of Popular Culture: What Video Games Can Teach Us about Making Students "Want" to Learn (James Paul Gee). Part II, Technology and Assessment, contains the following: (6) Online Testing, Version 1.0: Oregon's Adaptive Computer-Based Accountability Test Offers a Peek at a Brave New Future (Robert Rothman); (7) Video Games Take Testing to the Next Level: Researchers See Promise in Game-Like Assessments that Measure Complex Skills (Robert Rothman); and (8) The Promise of New State Tests: Two Consortia Plan Better Tests, but Will They Lead to Better Instruction? (Robert Rothman). Part III, Technology and School Improvement, contains the following: (9) "Equity, Access, and Opportunity": Despite Challenges, More Districts Adopt One-to-One Laptop Programs (Colleen Gillard); (10) Learning across Distance: Virtual-Instruction Programs Are Growing Rapidly, but the Impact on "Brick-and-Mortar" Classrooms Is Still Up in the Air (Kristina Cowan); (11) Hybrid Schools for the iGeneration: New Schools Combine "Bricks" and "Clicks" (Brigid Schulte); and (12) Like Teacher, Like Student: Online PD Helps Teachers Learn to Collaborate So Their Students Will, Too (Dave Saltman). [Foreword by Will Richardson.]